Securities

  • February 14, 2025

    'New Facts' Improper In Penny Stock Action, 2nd Circ. Told

    A Connecticut federal judge violated controlling case law and the constitutional rights of a penny stock CEO when imposing a judgment in a U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission enforcement action, defense counsel told the Second Circuit, arguing that the SEC admitted post-trial that it could not find any victims of the allegedly false public statements at issue.

  • February 14, 2025

    Fla. Crypto Operator Gets 2 Years In Prison For Wire Fraud

    A Florida federal judge sentenced a U.S. Air Force veteran and software developer to more than two years in prison on a wire fraud charge for soliciting more than $1 million from investors to pay for a cryptocurrency offering but using the funds to fuel a gambling addiction.

  • February 14, 2025

    1st Circ. Chides SEC, Judge In Atty Stock Scheme Case

    A split First Circuit has found that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was trying to hedge its bets before it asked the panel to reverse a partial dismissal of an enforcement action against a former Connecticut attorney that the agency had itself requested, but also that a Massachusetts district judge had made a series of errors that warrant kicking the SEC's cases back to the lower court.

  • February 14, 2025

    Financial Services Atty Leaves MoFo For White & Case In NY

    White & Case LLP announced it has expanded its global debt finance practice, financial services regulatory practice and global financial institutions industry group with a former Morrison Foerster LLP partner.

  • February 14, 2025

    Judge Leaves Curbs On DOGE Treasury Access After Hearing

    A Manhattan federal judge left in place temporary curbs on sweeping powers handed by President Donald Trump to Elon Musk's government-slashing U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization, after 19 states challenged the organization's access to U.S. Treasury payment systems.

  • February 13, 2025

    More CFPB Employees Axed As Union Presses For Injunction

    The Trump administration moved late Thursday to slash more of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's workforce, initiating another round of layoffs shortly after lawyers for the agency's union petitioned a D.C. federal court for an emergency injunction to prevent it.

  • February 13, 2025

    Wells Fargo Followed Seminoles' Orders For Trust, Jury Hears

    Wells Fargo told a Florida state jury Thursday its stewardship of a major trust for the Seminole tribe was sound, saying that the tribe asked for and received a "keep-it-safe trust" and there was no missing $800 million.

  • February 13, 2025

    9th Circ. Panel Doubts SEC's 'Gag Rule' Violates Free Speech

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday appeared to doubt a First Amendment challenge to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's "gag rule" that settling parties cannot deny allegations against them, as each judge noted that the agreements are voluntary.

  • February 13, 2025

    SEC Nets $38M In Judgments Over Cannabis Fraud Claims

    A purported marijuana cultivation company and associated entities are on the hook for judgments worth nearly $38 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims over an alleged Ponzi-like scheme soliciting would-be investors in "nonexistent" grow facilities.

  • February 13, 2025

    Del. Lawmakers Told Admin Response To Biz Unrest Looms

    Delaware's new secretary of state told lawmakers Thursday that news is imminent regarding the state's responses to reports that companies are considering moving their charters following purportedly negative rulings in high-profile corporate lawsuits.

  • February 13, 2025

    Fake Hedge Funder Pleads Out To $5M AI Trading Scam

    The head of Tadrus Capital on Thursday admitted lying to investors who collectively spent more than $5 million investing in his supposedly artificial intelligence-powered hedge fund, which he claimed would pay out guaranteed double-digit returns.

  • February 13, 2025

    Tesla, Objector Appeal $730M Chancery Board Pay Deal

    Tesla Inc. and a stockholder objector have appealed a Delaware Court of Chancery approval of the return of more than $730 million in director stock, option and grant awards to the company that would resolve a suit accusing the electric-car maker's board of raking in "outrageous" compensation packages that cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars.

  • February 13, 2025

    Arrow Financial Investors Get Final OK For $850K Deal

    Investors suing multibank holding company Arrow Financial Corp. received final approval from a New York federal judge Thursday for an $850,000 deal settling claims the company concealed defective internal controls that led to missed financial filings.

  • February 13, 2025

    Judge In SEC Case Asks If Fugitive Trader Really Died

    A Connecticut federal judge on Thursday directed the receiver managing the distribution of clawed-back funds diverted in a fraud by fugitive trader Iftikar Ahmed to look into claims that Ahmed has died and report to the court on their veracity.

  • February 13, 2025

    Chancery OKs Appraisal Suit Fix For Sears Damage Ruling

    A Sears Hometown Stores investor that saw its Delaware Court of Chancery share appraisal suit tanked by the company's bankruptcy in 2019 won a $4.06 per share payout ruling Thursday in a Court of Chancery decision focused on fair price and full and incremental damage claims.

  • February 13, 2025

    SafeMoon CEO's Trial Not Delayed By Crypto Policy Shifts

    A Brooklyn federal judge has declined to delay the late March start to a trial for the CEO of bankrupt cryptocurrency asset company SafeMoon LLC despite the executive's arguments that recent crypto policy shifts could cut the securities fraud charge from the counts against him.

  • February 13, 2025

    Origin Investors Fixed 'Fatally Vague' Fraud Claim, Judge Says

    A California federal judge has ruled that investors' fraud claims against sustainable materials-maker Origin Materials and its co-CEO can move forward, saying the plaintiffs have provided additional details from a confidential witness the judge previously found to be "fatally vague."

  • February 13, 2025

    Merck Investor Sues Over Gardasil China Market Projections

    Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. Inc. has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging it overstated global demand for its human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil, damaging investors when it revealed earlier this month it would not meet its revenue projections for the vaccine and paused shipments to China.

  • February 13, 2025

    Willkie Expands Litigation Bench With Mayer Brown Trio

    Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP has brought on three former Mayer Brown LLP partners in California and Washington, D.C., including two former federal prosecutors, and named one of the new partners as chair of its Foreign Corrupt Practices Act group, the firm announced Thursday.

  • February 13, 2025

    Greenberg Traurig Adds Skadden Litigator In Delaware

    Greenberg Traurig LLP announced Thursday that it has hired a corporate and commercial litigator for its Delaware office who formerly worked at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.

  • February 13, 2025

    GOP Rep. Moves To Nix SEC's Enhanced Fund Disclosures

    A Republican congressman has introduced a resolution that would repeal a recently adopted U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regulation requiring more detailed and frequent disclosures from mutual funds.

  • February 12, 2025

    Wells Fargo Cheated Seminole Trust Out Of $800M, Jury Hears

    Wells Fargo and its predecessor Wachovia cheated minors of the Seminole Tribe of Florida out of $818 million by secretly hiking fees and mismanaging investments in a multibillion-dollar gambling trust, a Florida jury heard Wednesday in opening statements for a multiweek trial in litigation involving more than 2,000 minors.

  • February 12, 2025

    EthereumMax Buyers Seek Cert. In Celeb Crypto Promos Suit

    A group of investors in crypto product EthereumMax have asked a federal judge in California to certify a class action accusing Floyd Mayweather Jr., Kim Kardashian and other celebrities of promoting the token, which allegedly was used in a pump-and-dump scheme.

  • February 12, 2025

    Crypto CEO Made $425K Disappear, Investor Tearfully Testifies

    A former business partner of a Texas man accused of running a $5 million fraud centered on a new "anti-money laundering" cryptocurrency testified tearfully before a California federal jury on Wednesday that her family invested about $425,000 in the defendant's previous cryptocurrency venture and lost every penny.

  • February 12, 2025

    SEC Rescinds Stricter Gensler-Era Proxy Exclusion Guidance

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday rescinded Biden-era guidelines around excluding certain shareholder proposals from proxy statements, reverting the agency's posture to an era that was generally more receptive to companies seeking such exclusions.

Expert Analysis

  • How To Safely Leverage AI In The Digital Assets Industry

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    Digital asset businesses that use or plan to implement artificial intelligence should assess their risk management frameworks to ensure that AI-related business areas, including customer support and fraud detection, are in compliance with applicable laws and regulatory guidance from the last year, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • $3B TD Bank AML Settlement Is A Wake-Up Call For All Banks

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    TD Bank’s historic settlement over anti-money laundering violations, resulting in over $3 billion in penalties, reminds banks of all shapes and sizes why they need to take financial crime compliance seriously, and highlights three areas that may be especially vulnerable to enforcement, says Jack Harrington at Bradley Arant.

  • What Trump Presidency May Mean For Climate Reporting

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    While the Trump administration will likely take a hands-off approach to climate-related disclosures and rescind regulations promulgated under the Biden administration, state and international ESG laws mean the private sector may not reverse course on such disclosures, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • SEC Action Indicates Continued Focus On ESG Disclosures

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently settled enforcement action against Invesco Advisers provides a road map for how regulatory agencies will continue to focus on ESG-related disclosures going forward, and underscores a focus on greenwashing, say attorneys at V&E.

  • The Bar Needs More Clarity On The Discovery Objection Rule

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    Almost 10 years after Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 was amended, attorneys still seem confused about what they should include in objections to discovery requests, and until the rules committee provides additional clarity, practitioners must beware the steep costs of noncompliance, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law Office.

  • The AI Consumer Class Action Threat Is Not A Hallucination

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    As regulators scrutinize whether businesses can deliver on claims about their artificial intelligence products and services, the industry faces a wave of consumer fraud class actions — but AI companies can protect themselves by prioritizing fundamental best practices that are often overlooked, say Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein and Richard Torrenzano at the Torrenzano Group.

  • What's Next For The CFTC After The Election

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    While much of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's enforcement actions in line with its traditional priorities will continue as usual in the near term, postelection leadership changes at the CFTC and new congressional priorities may alter the commission's regulatory framework in 2025 and beyond — particularly its oversight of crypto, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Del. Dispatch: Clarifying Charter Amendment Vote Obligations

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    The Delaware Court of Chancery recently held in Gunderson v. The Trade Desk that only a majority stockholder vote is needed to approve a company's proposed reincorporation from Delaware to Nevada through a corporate conversion, which bodes well for other companies also considering leaving the First State, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • What's Still Up In The Air After Ruling On Calif. Climate Laws

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    A California federal court's recent ruling on challenges to California's sweeping climate disclosure laws resolved some issues, but allows litigation over the constitutionality of the laws to continue, and leaves many important questions on what entities will need to do to comply with the laws unanswered, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Series

    Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving this country in uniform has not only been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it has also provided me with opportunities to broaden my legal acumen and interpersonal skills in ways that have indelibly contributed to my civilian practice, says Phillip Smith at Weinberg Wheeler.

  • Navigating DOJ's Patchwork Whistleblower Regime

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    In the past few months, the U.S. Department of Justice and several individual U.S. attorney’s offices have issued different pilot programs aimed at incentivizing individuals to blow the whistle on misconduct, but this piecemeal approach may create confusion and suboptimal outcomes, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?

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    Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • A Look At Similarities Between SOX And SEC's Cyber Rule

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    Just as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act paved the way for greater transparency and accountability in financial reporting, the SEC's cybersecurity rule is doing much the same for cybersecurity, ensuring that companies are resilient in the face of growing cyber threats, says Padraic O'Reilly at CyberSaint.

  • Trump Rollback Of Biden Enviro Policies: What To Expect

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    Donald Trump's upcoming second presidential term will usher significant shifts in U.S. environmental and natural resource law and policy — and while the Biden administration is racing to secure its legacy, the incoming Trump administration is making plans to dramatically roll back most, if not all, of Biden's environmental initiatives, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: November Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses six federal court decisions that touch on Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and when individual inquiries are needed to prove economic loss.

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